This week, Spartanburg and Gaffney began their playoff journeys after first-round byes.
Spartanburg 37 Byrnes 17
Last time these 2 teams met, the game got ugly real quick for the Rebels as Spartanburg had the game put away by the end of the opening 12 minutes. This time, the feeling coming in was that Byrnes would put up a much more worthy challenge for the Vikings. Afterall, Tre Segarra was back, giving the Rebels’ offense a dimension they did not have the first time these 2 met. They had a run game and a threat that the Vikings had to prepare for as well as a sense of confidence. Byrnes has won back to back games, ending the regular season with a big win over Boiling Springs thanks in big part to Tre Segarra as well as the dominant effort over Lexington in the first round. Things looked up for Reggie Shaw and company.
Unfortunately, though on paper the matchup looked more appealing, Spartanburg once again showed that they were the better team with another convincing victory.
It was Byrnes that drew first blood, going on an 8 play, 44-yard drive that was capped by a 33 yard field goal. That would be the Rebels’ lone points until the 4th quarter.
Spartanburg scored the next 24 points unanswered until the Rebels started the final stanza with an 18 yard touchdown pass from Caine Rodgers to Elijah Clarke. After the Vikings answered with a Will Love field goal – his second of a perfect 3-3 night, Rodgers hit Clarke again, this time from 10 yards out to make it a 10 point game.
From there, the Vikings scored 10 more unanswered to make for the final tally.
Spartanburg QB Trey Burke finished 8 for 16 passing with 143 yards and a touchdown. Justin Rice was his leading target, with 4 receptions for 119 yards and a touchdown. Running Back Trenton Lynch tallied 107 yards and a touchdown on 17 carries.
Caine Rodgers actually led the way for the Rebels in the passing game, going 13 of 22 for 172 yards and the 2 TDs. Zy Landrum was 7-15 with just 66 yards through the air. Elijah Clarke hauled in 7 balls for 105 yards. The Vikings’ defense limited Segarra to less than 100 yards, rushing for just 47 on 14 attempts – enough to still be the leading rusher for the Rebels.
With the win, Spartanburg will host a very intriguing quarterfinal next week against the JL Mann Patriots.
Gaffney 41 Riverside 21
There were a lot of similarities between this matchup and Byrnes-Spartanburg. These 2 squads met earlier this season with Gaffney squeaking out a 28-21 win at the other Reservation in Greer. This was in the midst of the huge offensive slump the Indians experienced for the better part of the season, and was at a time when they were without running back Jaiden McDowell.
McDowell, like Tre Segarra for Byrnes, adds a huge boost of confidence and a dimension to the offense that truly opens their playbook up. For that reason, the Indians came into this game like Byrnes was with Spartanburg – looking to prove that who you saw the last time they played is not who they are.
They did that with ease. The Indians were never not in full control of the game in a matchup where even if they weren’t at full strength, they would outmatch Riverside. Sure, this isn’t the Warriors that used to be notorious for being the ideal homecoming opponent. But, Gaffney was leaps and bounds better either way.
Gaffney put up 332 yards of total offense – 203 through the air behind Jamarcus Smith and Shane Davidson. Smith hauled in 9 of Jayvon Gilmore’s 16 completions for 119 yards and a touchdown. Davidson had just 2 catches for 17 yards, but added the lone other receiving score. Eli Falls also logged some significant yardage with 44 on 2 snags.
Jaiden McDowell ran the ball 14 times for 73 yards and a pair of TDs while backup tailback Gertavious Harris logged 60 yards on 9 touches. Jayvon Gilmore and Jamarcus Smith also added a rushing score each in the win.
Gaffney will host TL Hanna next week in the 5A division II quarterfinal round.
Dutch Fork 42 Boiling Springs 14
In quite possibly the unluckiest draw of the 5A division I bracket, the Bulldogs had to make the road trip down to the woods outside Irmo for yet another playoff date with Tom Knotts and the undefeated Dutch Fork Silver Foxes. Last season, they were absolutely blasted in a first round exit down in the midlands, and most expected this would be about the same.
Credit to the Bulldogs. Despite Knotts’ squad jumping out to a 14-0 lead, BSHS kept themselves in the game, only trailing 14-7 late in the 2nd quarter. But, the Silver Foxes scored a TD with about a minute left on the clock to make for a 21-7 halftime margin, and that was all the cushion they’d need the rest of the way. Out of the interval, Dutch Fork opened up a 42-7 lead before Lincoln Huskey found Kyle Patterson for the 2nd time in the game, this time on a 27 yard TD pass with just 7 ticks left in the 4th quarter to make for the final tally.
Whether or not this season can be checked off as a success for the Bulldogs depends on what your expectations were for them ahead of the season. But, to beat Dorman for the first time in over a decade and win a playoff game continues the trend of getting better every year under Matt Reel. To most, that is positive enough to say that even if you hoped for better, the season was still a good one.
South Pointe 56 Greer 17
This is a similar case to Boiling Springs’ draw with Dutch Fork. Unfortunate. Greer had to go on the road to take on a team that has been among the top 5 in 4A all season long, and it got away quick.
Ty Breeze completed 11 of 29 passes for 237 yards and a touchdown while adding a rushing score to 16 yards on 12 attempts. Both Mikey Williams and Chance Todd were over 100 receiving yards – Williams with 3 catches for 109 yards and Todd with 6 snags for 101 yards and a TD. The ground game was virtually non-existent. The Yellow Jackets’ leading rusher was Nick Holmes, who tallied just 35 yards on 17 carries.
Whether or not the season is a success for Greer also depends on what was expected of them. They played a brutal non-region schedule and took their lumps. They played very well in region play, meeting Daniel for the 2-4A title. They didn’t win, but who honestly expected them to? They lost their starting QB Kaden Rowland to injury entering the home stretch, and ultimately still won a playoff game without them. Is a second round appearance enough given the circumstances?
Powdersville 21 Woodruff 14
Woodruff’s offense has been a huge key to their success from the opening whistle this season when they went to Clinton and picked up a last-minute win back in Week Zero. That offense met a challenge, mostly of its own doing Friday night, ultimately being their undoing. They turned the ball over four times and averaged just 3.5 yards per play, mustering what seems like a season-low 272 yards of total offense. In spite of that, Powdersville just could not pull the trigger and get the kill shot in. That allowed the Wolverines to hang within a score. But, in the end they could not get the breaks to translate into opportunities to tie the game, and fell.
TJ Morris was 20 for 36 passing with 165 yards and a touchdown. He threw 2 interceptions to go with fumbles lost by Kori Moates and Aiden Gibson.
Kori Moates hauled in 10 passes for 90 yards and a TD to lead the aerial attack. Aiden Gibson had 103 yards and a score on 26 carries to lead the way on the ground.
MVP 42 Walhalla 19
The Stars are continuing to shoot through the 3A bracket, advancing to the quarterfinal round with relative ease, where they will host the Crescent Tigers.
Fairfield Central 41 Chesnee 6
Chesnee’s offense was all but muffled in their 2nd round game down in Winnsboro. The Eagles were outgained 474-99 in the ground game alone. They averaged just 3 yards per rushing attempt and logged just 99 yards. They had just 94 passing yards in the game, being outgained in the total offense category 534-193.
KJ Proctor was the biggest bright spot. He led the rushing attack with 12 carries for 54 yards and the Eagles’ lone touchdown. He also completed 7 of 16 passes for 94 yards.
The Eagles finish their first season under Brett Chappell 6-6 overall, which is likely a result the folks in Chesnee will take.
Related
